Filing tray



April 30, 1929. N, WE K I 1,110,754

FILING TRAY Filed Feb. 25, 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FILING TRAY Filed Feb. 25, 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet Patented Apr. 30, 1929.

UNITED STATES PATENT, OFFICE.

NELSON {it- \VELK, OF ATHENS, OHIO. ASSIGNOR TO THE MCBEE BINDER (30., OF ATHENS,

OHIO, A CORPORATION OF OHIO.

FILING TRAY.

Application filed Februaiy 25, 1926. Serial No. 90,477.

nvention relates to an improvement in for card; ate, and has: pariirar-e to u lollower Jl' such tray. 1 of the invention i. the provision we?- of improved construction, for air nurtion with inerhaniu n disclosed copoiiiilit ilf applicaiion, So ital Number i tiled l vb. 192a important object of the invention rel-etu-Ll:- of constri r 'n whereby adjusted i a ally W and upon release, will autoniatiitself against accidental 11loveoiporlant objects and advantages i tiou aill be appu enl during the the tolbiiwing description, referhad to the acriun niiiying drawi n lil-ze reference characters are .d to dez' igrnate like parts throughout.

"i the drawings:

r pe pcct'ive view of a filing; tray the invention,

Val, longitudinal section ti transverse, vertical section i and. associatrifl carriage, removed from i i a ,-:li; i htly enlarged central, vertizhronrh the follower carriage in ring" ipecifically to the drawings, the i it) d i'nolee the front Wall of the l c wall and 12 the rear wall. it and 1B, are Formed from suitably stitl sheet. metal, "i at its upper edges, as indiio Pl UVl 'lQ a reinforced and inn surl'iu'c. The walls are by a ,--:ub"- t:iutially rigid thcrearr'ujiniil, adjacent the d projecting; inhtlv beyond t end wall am l 12. A hotsuitubly attached to the side and 1t and 1:2, as by spot welding, or, f.. they may be formed of one piece. i o eide ot' the tray is formed open perspective View ot the foldesignated as a whole by the numeral 16.

The door and associated parts are identical with that disclosed in the above-mentioned application and will require no detail de- Stjl'lpi ltlll herein. The ends 10 and 12, adjacent such opening, are further reinforeed by vertical corner posts 17, weldedior otherwise attacheijl thereto. The front end 10 is provii'lcd with a handle 18 and an open card-pocket: 19. i i

The door 16 is adapted for vertical swingiug movement and when in the outermost posit-hm, lies in a substantially horizontal plane. The purpose ofthe door 16 is to enable the operator to gain ready access to the cards contained in the tray and, if dosircd to slide a card or ards outwardly for further reference, such cards being suppixu'ted upon the surface of the door.

It is desirable that means he provided to prevent: distortirm of the tray due to the door opening, and to overcome this objection, a strip 19 is welded or otherwise at tachcd to the outer surface of alignment with the band 14, and extending beyond the ends of the door to form in effect a contininition of the band 14. The projecting ends of the strip 19 are provided with ('lpcnings for the reception of pins 20, carried by the corner posts 1.7. It will thus be seen that when the door in the closed position, the pine will engage within the openings, consequently, any stress upon the adjacent; portions of the ends of the tray will be supported by the strip 19.

The ninneral 21 designates a substantially U-shaped track, extendin" longitudinally of the tray for its entire llingth, and bolted or otherwise rigidly attached to the bottom thereof, as shown. This track is provided with inturnei'l flanges 22 to be engaged by th carriage ol a follower, to be described. Inverted U-shaped fillers 23 are positioniul upon the bottom of the tray upon opposite sides of the track 21, and completely cover the bottom of the tray. The purpose of these tillers is to bring the level of the tray bottom up to the level of the track 21. The fillers may be bolted or otherwise rigidly attached within the tray.

The numeral 2-1 designates a follower plate hingedly lIlOtllltBCltlPOIl a transverse the door, in y engage beneath the flanges and have sliding contact therewith. its clearly shown, the

carriage 28 is otlset sulliciently to raise the bar above the working surface of the tray, whereby undue =;t'r.ictiou will be avoided during the movement ot the follower. To avoid tilting of the follower laterally, tiller strips 30 have been provided, which are rigidly aliiiicd to the bottom of the bar 25 directly over the flanges 2L, and are adapted to slide thereon.

It becomes necessary to provide means for locking the follower plate against accidental movement under pressure of the filed matter, and to accomplish this, av block 31 is arranged adjacent the rear edge of the bar 25, and connected thereto through the medium of a flat leaf spring he spring is bolted to the bar by means of bolts 33, such bolts serving to also attach the carriage 28. The block 31 is grooved at its ends for engaging over the flanges 22, and adapted to slide thereon with the bar 25 and carriage Q8. The spring 32 is bowed downwardly and exerts a downward movement to the block 31. It will therefore be obvious that such movement under the action of the spring 32 will clamp the block 31 in trio tional engagement with the flanges To release this frictional engagement, it is nec "sary to rai c the blocl' 31 against the tension of the spiii g su'tlicient to bring the same into alignment with the carriage 28, at which time the bar and associated elements may be freely moved along the track.

To facilitate the movement ol? the follower and to release the locking block 3., an arm Si is bolted to the block 31, as at 35, and is slightly, rearwardly ollset from the vertical. The upper end of the arm 3%]: is bent rearwardly at a greater angle. for engagement by the finger of the operator. A. clearly shown in Fl 1 to 3, the plate ll is notched out, as at 36. and is further provided with a depression 37, which acts as a seat for the thumb of the operator. \Vhen it is d ired to release the carriage for movement, the operator engages the plate 21- with the thumb and the arm 8 2i with the linger, pressing them together, at which tin'ie the carriage is released and the follower is tree for sliding movement.

In order to retain the tollo *er in rigid vertical position, and to positively hold the carriage in locked position, a hinged plate 38 is carried by the rear wall of the plate ill, and is adapted to be swung upward and into contact with the arm 34-. Upward movement of the plate 38 limited by a stop lng 39, carried by the arm Ell. One corner of the plate 2-38 is bent upwardly as at ll-ll, whereby the operator may readily engage the same with the finger, when the plate 38 is swung down against the plate ii.

In order to provide a means o'l'f retaining the tiled cards in compact and upright position, a cimipression or clamping plate has been provided in the :torward end of the tray. This plate is designated by the numeral ell, and identical. with that dis closed in my copeuding application, hi'sreinbefore noted. The plate ll is hiiuzjedly supported as at -12, to a suitable rigid support, (i Liguated as a whole by the numeral l3. The numeral. l-et designates the operating lever for controlling the position of the plate ell.

The operation of the device is as follows:

A;- uining that the tray contains tiled matter such as cards, and that the parts are in the position illustrated in Fig.1. 1: It now desired to inspect the card and to make this possible, the lever ll is swung over to the lett, thereby releasing the clamping plate ell. The plate 38 is then moved down to permit the plate l-l: to swing rearward against the brackets 27. It is now possible to inspect the cards, as all pressure has been relieved therefrom. ll it is desired to insert; :uldit ional cards, the operator places the thumb in the seat 37, and with the linger or lingers, pr s the arm Ell toward the plate This act on, due to the rigid connection oi the. arm Ill: with the block 3 results in raising the block ill upward slightly against the tension ol" the. spring 312, thus straightening said l loch into aligmnent with the carriage "28. and when the parts are in this pcsition. said carriage and associated elements may be readily moved along the track Removal of the hand of the operator from the plate fi l and arm til, will immediately result in the locking of the carriage again t movement.

)sirable at times to insert. slips or ()l'll(l.s\',.-. mark r: tain cards for further reference and to avoid the dilliculty of again locating such card or cards. To obviate this dillicu ty. the operator releases the door 16, permitting the same to drop downward to the open position.

It will be o r erved from the foregoing that an extremely simple and efficient term t lilting tray has been provided. The parts are Few and so arranged as to make them easily acce ole to the operator. he provitaion of the door an nnu-andly advantalit goons feature, which avoids much undue time and labor in the filing of those cards which require constant inspection.

It *ill be observcd from the foregoing that an extremely simple and efficient form of follower has been provided. The parts are automatically locked upon release of the hand of the operator, while a slight pressure together of the plate 24 and arm 3-]: is sufficient to more the parts to the unlocked position. The parts are of such nature as to avoid the probability of becoming -disarranged from normal use. The insertion of the tiller strips 30 avoids friction of the follower bar 25 upon the working surface of the tray, and permits an unusually eas :liding movement of the follower and carriage.

It to be understood that the inventi is not limited to the precise construction set forth but that it includes within its purview whatever changes fairly come within either the terms or the spirit of the appended claims.

Having described my invention, what I claim is:

1. A tiling tray of the character described, comp rising a rectangular body portion, open at its top, a trackway rigidly supported within said tray and upon the bottom thereof, a follower plate, a carriage for said follower plate adapted to slide in said trackway, means for hinging said follower plate to said carriage for vertical swinging movement, a projecting arm on the carriage, a positioning plate hinged to the follower plate to engage the arm on the carriage and thereby force the follower plate to a vertical position, means to limit the forward swinging movement of said follower plate to the vertical position, and means to limit the rearward swinging movement of said follower plate.

A filing tray of the character described, comprising a rectangular sheet-metal body portion, formed open at its top, a trackway rigidly mounted within said tray and upon the bottom thereof, a follower plate. a carriage for said follower plate adapted to engage said trackway, hinge means for connecting said follower plate with said carriage. means to limit the forward movementof said plate, means to limit the rearward swinging movement of said plate, means for rigidly supporting said plate in the forward adpaated position, and clamping means for holding said. carriage in adjusted position upon said trackway.

3. A filing tray of the character described, comprising a rectangular body portion, open at its top. a trackway rigidly supported therein and upon the bottom there a follower plate. a carriage for said follower plate, operable upon said trackway, hinge means for connecting said plate and said carriage for vertical swinging movement of supported therein and upon the lflOttOIll,

thereof, a follower plate, a carriage for said follower means for hinging said plate and said carriage, said carriage comprising a supporting bar, brackets carried by said supporting bar for limiting the rearwardswinging movement of said plate, said plate, when in its forward position, adapted to have its lower edge engage the forward edge of the supporting bar, for limiting such forward movement, a clamping means engaging said trackway, spring means connecting said clamping plate, operable upon said trackwtly,

means and said carriage, an operating arm for said clampingmeans, rigidlyicarried thereby, a plate hingedly supported upon the rear wall of said follower plate, said latter plate adapted, when, swung u wardly, to engage said operating arm of t- 1e clamping means for retaining the follower plate in forward adjusted position, said operating arm for the clamping means, when moved toward the follower plate after the latter has been moved to the release position, adapted to arise said clamping means to be released for permitting adjustment of the carriage upon the t-rackway.

A follower device of the character described, comprising a follower plate, a carriage'therefor, a trackway having inturned flanges said carriage adapted to operate uponsaid trackway, said carriage comprising a supporting bar, hinge means connect,

ing said plate with said supporting her, meansfor limiting the forward swinging movement of said plate, brackets carried by the supporting bar for limiting the rearward swinging movement of said plate, said carriage further comprising a horizontally U shaped member, the parallel portions of which are adapted to ongageheneath the flanges of the trackway, spacing elements carried by said supporting bar and in alignment with said parallel portions, for operating above the flanges of said trackway, means to selectively clamp and release said carriage upon said trackway, comprising another member slidahly engaged ,withthe latter, spring means connecting said carriage and said other member, an operating arm rigidly connected with said clamping means for releasing the samc, and a plate hingedly supported upon said follower plate for engag ing said operating arm, for supporting said plate in the forward adjusted position, while at the same time forcing said clamping means into engagement with the tracltway.

6. A follower device of the character described comprising a follower plate, a carriage for said follower plate, a U-shaped trackway having inturned upper flanges, said carriage adapted to engage said trackway, said carriage comprising a sup porting bar, a horizontally U-shaped member rigidly attached to said supporting bar and offset therefrom for engagement beneath the flanges of the trackway, hinge means for attaching said plate to said supporting bar, brackets carried by said supporting bar for limiting the rearward swinging movement of said plate, a clamping bar positioned adjacent said carriage and adapted to engage over the flanges of the trackway, a leaf spring rigidly secured to said carriage and said clamping bar, normally tending to move said clamping bar downwardly for engagement with said flanges, an operating arm rigidly connected with said clamping bar, means carried by said follower plate for forcing said plate into positive operative position, said means comprising a hinged plate, supported upon the rear face of said follower plate, said last-named hinge plate when in one position, adapted to engage the operating arm of the clamping means, whereby said follower plate will be forced into operative position, means carried by said operating arm for limiting the upward swinging movement of said plate and spacing blocks rigidly carried by the underside of said supporting bar, adjacent said flanges, and adapted to slide thereon.

'7. A filing tray of the character described, comprising a rectangular body portion, formed open at its top, a trackway rigidly supported upon the bottom thereof, said trackway formed of U-shaped section and having inturned flanges, filler elements adapted to the spaces upon the opposite sides of the trackway upon the bottom of said tray, whereby the working surface of the tray will be elevated to the top of the trackway, a follower plate, a carriage for said follower plate, said carriage comprising a supporting bar, a horizontally substantially U shaped runner member, rigidly supported upon said bar and offset for engaging below the flanges of the trackway, means to selectively clamp and release said U- shaped member, spacing blocks rigidly supported upon the under face of said support ing bar, and in alignment with said flanges,-

whereby said supporting bar will be elevated slightly above the working surface of the tray, said spacing blocks adapted to slide upon the upper surface of said flanges, a clamping member positioned adjacent said carriage, a flat leaf spring, rigidly connected with said carriage and with said clamping member, and normally tending to move said clamping member downwardly for engagement with said flanges, said clamping member comprising a bar grooved at its ends for engagement over said flanges, an operating arm rigidly connected with said clamping bar and offset slightly rearwardly from the vertical, hinge means connecting said follower plate with said supporting bar, means for limiting the forward swinging move ment of said follower plate, rigid brackets carried by said supporting bar for limiting the rearward swinging movement of said plate, means carried by said plate adapted to engage said operating arm for forcing said plate into positive operative position, means to limit the movement of said last-named means, said operating arm acting to release said clamping means when moved toward the follower plate.

8. A follower device of the character de scribed, comprising a follower plate, a carriage therefor, a U-shaped trackway having inturned flanges, adapted to receive said carriage, a clamping member arranged adacent said carriage, said clamping member comprising a bar having grooved ends adapted to engage over the flanges of said trackway, spring means connecting said carriage and said clamping member whereby said clamping member is adapted to be normally moved downwardly for frictional engagement with said flanges, an operating arm rigidly connected with said clamping member, means for hingedly supporting said followerplate upon said carriage, said carriage comprising a horizontally U-shaped runner member rigidly attached to a supporting bar and offset for engagement beneath the flanges of the trackway, spacing blocks rigidly supported upon the bottom surface of a supporting bar for sliding engagement with the upper surface of the flanges, means to limit the forward swinging movement of the follower plate, means to limit the rearward swinging movement of the follower plate, said operating arm, when moved toward said follower plate against the tension of the spring means acting to 11love the clamping member into alignment with the carriage for permitting the free movement of the carriage and clamping means longitudinally of said flanges, all as substantially shown and described.

NELSON S. WELK.

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